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Thomas Carter

British Ambassador to Guatemala

Part of UK in Guatemala

10th May 2016 Guatemala City

Queen’s Birthday Celebration

This year Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her ninetieth birthday.  Born in 1926, she became Queen in 1952 on the death of her father, King George V, and has been Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the last 64 years.

Events to mark The Queen’s 90th birthday are being held around the world and across the UK.  Many of these will be held on Saturday 11 June, which is the day of The Queen’s official birthday.  This is the day when she will attend The Queen’s Birthday Parade in Central London.  Also known as Trooping the Colour, this colourful ceremony involves The Queen and other members of the Royal Family processing down the Mall from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards’ Parade where the spectacular Birthday Parade will be held.  The following day there will be an open-air Patrons’ Lunch and street party on The Mall for more than 10,000 guests.  Street parties are also being planned across the UK to celebrate her birthday weekend.

Here in Guatemala City we held our Queen’s Birthday Party on 21 April, the day of her actual birthday.  We tried to make it a very British garden party, and held the event in a large marquee on the lawn of the British Ambassador’s Residence, with over 400 guests.  The route across the gardens to the marquee was lined by an exhibition of photographs of memorable moments in The Queen’s life.  The tent was decorated in red, white and blue, and Union flags hung along the sides.  There was a splendid three-tiered birthday cake topped in the form of a crown, and biscuits decorated with iconic images of the UK: red double-decker buses, black taxi cabs, and red telephone boxes.  We sang the national anthem, and toasted The Queen’s health.  Outside we had posters from the GREAT Britain campaign with examples of British excellence, and British-made cars – from the iconic Land Rover Defender to the latest Lotus sports car – scattered around the lawn.

Two days later, using the same marquee on the lawn, we held a charity Ball to raise money for charities operating in Guatemala.  Taking our cue from the year in which The Queen was born, the theme was the 1920s.  With nearly 300 tickets sold, the event raised a significant sum of money to donate to a British-run charity.

I am hugely grateful to my colleagues at the British Embassy for arranging these two major events in such a professional way.  I am also very grateful to various private companies with British links in Guatemala for their generous sponsorship, without whose support neither event would have been possible.

It so happens that the Royal Mail shares its birthday with The Queen.  The Royal Mail, which is the UK’s postal service, turns 500 this year, and The Queen herself spent part of her birthday on 21 April visiting the Royal Mail delivery office in Windsor.   A total of 17,420 pieces of post arrived for The Queen on her birthday, including many birthday cards and gifts.

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3 comments on “Queen’s Birthday Celebration

  1. Dear Thomas,

    I deeply regret to inform you that despite all my efforts to wish the Her Majesty Queen of England on her 90th Birthday have gone in vain. Please note that my forefathers served the British Empire over 200 years and achieved many distinctions i.e. MBE, OBI, SB, War star, Burmah war medals,etc and many certificates awarded by the His Highness Kind George vi. So many days have lapsed but I personaly await the response from the heaven.I shall be hugely grateful if you please help me out.
    Regards

  2. LONG LIVE” HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND’’
    Honorable Sir,
    It is obligatory on me to wish the Her Majesty The Queen of England on her 90th Birthday owing to the fact that my forefathers served the British Empire more than 200 years result of which was that my Grand Grand father was awarded Khan Bahadur distinction and my Grand Father had the Sahib Bahadur distinction and my Late father Abdul Salam Siddiqui hold the most valuable O.B.I, M.B.E,SB, War Medal Burmah, Star etc.,and certificates issued by the His Majesty the George the vi.

    I deeply regret to bring it to your kind notice Neither the British high commission nor the sources available in Pakistan bothered to contact us on any eve and me and my family remains in obscurity. The family of great Siddiquis is still on the dark side.

    I await your reply on the matter

    Yours truly,

    AHSAN AHMAD SIDDIQUI
    S/O CAPTAIN A.S.SIDDIQUI M.B.E.O.B.I.S.B M.Q
    0323 4882383
    ehsan.ahmad550@gmail.com

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About Thomas Carter

Tom Carter arrived in Guatemala in August 2015. This is his second ambassadorial job, the first being as British High Commissioner to Zambia (2008 to 2012). Tom worked on the…

Tom Carter arrived in Guatemala in August 2015. This is his second ambassadorial job, the first being as British High Commissioner to Zambia (2008 to 2012). Tom worked on the London 2012 Olympic Games, and was until recently in charge of the FCO’s global consular policy, working out of London. He has spent much of his career in Europe (France, Germany and Slovakia), but also in Colombia and Thailand. Tom is married to another career diplomat, Carolyn Davidson, with whom he shared the job in Zambia and who is now British Ambassador to Honduras. They have two teenage sons.

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